MAYOR BLOOMBERG UNVEILS THE NEW NEW MUSEUM FOR CONTEMPORARY ART IN LOWER MANHATTAN

New facility is the first art museum to be built in Lower Manhattan

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today unveiled a new facility
for the New Museum of Contemporary Art on the Bowery in Lower Manhattan. The new
building is the centerpiece of the museum’s $64 million capital campaign, which
covers construction project costs and includes a significant expansion of the
institution’s endowment. The Mayor was joined by First Deputy Mayor
Patricia Harris; Cultural Affairs (DCA) Commissioner
Kate D. Levin; Councilman Dominick M. Recchia Jr.; Councilmember Alan J. Gerson;
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Chair Avi Schick; New Museum Director
Lisa Phillips, and President of the Board of Trustees Saul Dennison.

“The new New Museum will do what artists and arts organizations do
for New York City everyday – embody our aspirations, enliven our neighborhoods,
and make New York City the place so many of us want to live, work and play,”
said Mayor Bloomberg. “This new facility is a brilliant work of contemporary art
itself that will draw visitors from around the corner and around the world, and
provide a new focal point for art lovers everywhere.”

“The New
Museum has been a curatorial pioneer since its inception in 1977, showcasing and
promoting the work of contemporary visual artists working in every medium,” said
Commissioner Levin. “We are proud to support the Museum and applaud its
leadership as they continue their pioneering legacy with this new home on the
Bowery. This will be a spectacular new addition to our cultural landscape
that will also help to revitalize the neighborhood.”

The City, through the Department of Cultural Affairs, in
conjunction with the City Council, invested $6.5 million in the seven-story,
60,000 square foot facility, a striking metal mesh-clad stack of boxes shifted
off axis in a dynamic composition designed by Tokyo-based architects Sejima +
Nishizawa/SANAA. The building features column-free exhibition spaces, a
182-seat theater, a lobby bookstore, expanded classrooms, an education center, a
café and rooftop terraces facing south and east over the cityscape.

The unveiling marks the institution’s 30th anniversary,
and represents the first time in the organization’s history that it has occupied
its own freestanding space. This milestone will also be celebrated with 30 hours
of continuous free admission to the public sponsored by Target. Beginning
tomorrow, the public will be able to view the inaugural exhibition,
“Unmonumental,” an international survey of one hundred objects by thirty
artists, exploring techniques of collage and assemblage in sculpture, collage,
sound and new media.

“This is a singular moment in the history of the New
Museum,” said Lisa Phillips. “The institution is transformed. We have both
a breathtaking new building that is now completely paid for and a solid
endowment to help us continue to pursue our mission to bring new art and new
ideas to an ever widening audience. The City of New York has been an ideal
partner in this project, and has been instrumental in helping us realize our
vision for a new home that contributes to New York’s cultural and economic
vitality, and architectural landscape.”

“The new New Museum is a testament to the passion
that exists in New York City and around the world for new art and new ideas,
shared with the public,” said Saul Dennison, “and the result of terrific
collaboration with the City of New York and an array of partners and supporters
in New York and internationally. With our new building, which has more than
twice the exhibition space of our old facility and features that will allow us
to be as daring and bold as we have always been, the New Museum looks forward to
greeting a greatly expanded public audience and continuing the dynamic,
meaningful, and ultimately essential dialogue that contemporary art
invites.”

The New Museum of
Contemporary Art is the only museum in New York City devoted exclusively to
contemporary art, and is committed to bringing the work of under-recognized
artists to the fore. It boasts a proud history of being among the first to
exhibit work by important figures in the art world like William Kentridge, Paul
McCarthy and Andrea Zittel before they received widespread recognition. The
Museum attracts approximately 100,000 visitors annually, and this new building
is expected to draw over 350,000 visitors in its inaugural year.
Out-of-town visitors to the museum are expected to pump more than $185 million
into the local economy annually. The museum has also expanded its staff,
from 34 in 2006, to 102 employees today. More than 300 people were
employed by contractors in building the new $48.3 million New Museum.
Seven new galleries have opened in the immediate area surrounding the museum in
the past two years, creating a destination cultural district.